Do ChatGPT:
"Homothetic preferences in economics are a special type of consumer preferences characterized by consistent or proportional scaling. Here's a detailed explanation:
Definition: Preferences are homothetic if they remain consistent as they scale up or down. In other words, if a consumer prefers a bundle of goods A over bundle B, then they will also prefer any scaled-up version of A (say, twice as much of A) over the same scaled-up version of B.
Utility Representation: Homothetic preferences can often be represented by a utility function that is a monotonic transformation of a homogeneous function. A common example is a Cobb-Douglas utility function, U (x, y) = x2y2, where x and y are quantities of two goods, and a and b are constants.
Income Changes: In the context of homothetic preferences, changes in income lead to changes in the quantity of goods consumed but not in the proportions in which different goods are consumed. This means that the ratio of one good to another in the consumer's consumption bundle remains constant as income changes.
Indifference Curves: For homothetic preferences, indifference curves have the same shape at all points along a ray from the origin. As a result, these curves are self-similar and only shift in position with changes in income or prices.
Implications in Economics: Homothetic preferences simplify consumer behavior analysis because they imply that the income elasticity of demand is equal to one. This means that the proportion of income spent on a good remains constant as income increases.
Limitations: While homothetic preferences provide a simplified analysis model, real-world preferences are often non-homothetic. Consumers' preferences may change with income levels, leading them to buy different types or proportions of goods.
Homothetic preferences are a key concept in consumer theory and are used to model consumer behavior in various economic analyses, particularly in understanding how consumption patterns change with income."
Treta!!! Na realidade, os padrões de consumo mudam com a riqueza económica. Isto significa que as preferências não são realmente homotéticas. As alterações relativas nos preços afectam as pessoas de forma diferente, mesmo que todas enfrentem o mesmo conjunto de preços.
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